As we gather with friends and family to observe this holiday season and to pray for peace on earth and good will toward men, I thank you for the opportunity to represent Virginia’s Fifth District in the United States Congress. The blessings we enjoy as Virginians are abundant, and I am grateful every day for the natural beauty, the agricultural bounty, and the hardworking entrepreneurial spirit we see all across our great district.
It is important that we recognize that the blessings we enjoy as Americans would not be possible without our men and women in uniform, who are indeed our peacemakers. So many of our service members will be away from their families this holiday season, so let us keep them in our thoughts and in our prayers and be sure to show our appreciation for the great sacrifices that they make.
The House and Senate recently came together to agree upon the Bipartisan Budget Act, within which we exchanged one-time cuts for long-term spending reforms that will secure our military readiness by giving our troops the resources they need to defend our nation. While not everything in the budget agreement is as I would have drafted it, it was imperative that Congress act to pass a budget to alleviate the pressure that sequestration imposed on our military.
I share the concerns of many servicemen and women, veterans, and military families with one provision of this budget agreement pertaining to veterans’ future retirement cost of living adjustments. I am committed to identifying alternative budget reforms and I will work with my colleagues to ensure that no veterans are impacted by these changes before they take effect in 2016.
I look forward to beginning the New Year with a renewed sense of commitment to serving the needs of the people of Virginia’s Fifth District and to moving our great nation forward. I hope you and your loved ones enjoy this holiday season, and I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
If you need any additional information, please visit my website at hurt.house.gov or call my Washington office: (202) 225-4711, Charlottesville office: (434) 973-9631, Danville office: (434) 791-2596, or Farmville office: (434) 395-0120.
Robert Hurt represents the Fifth District in Congress.
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